The End
by Evanescent Dementia
Summary: "I'm so sorry, Sasuke." Naruto whispered the words and they rebounded off of the cold hospital walls, louder than they should be. "I was never able to save you." The words were cruel and ironic, for it wasn't Sasuke who needed saving now.
1. Sickness

**Alright, I realize that i haven't updated my other stories yet, and I am so sorry, I got caught up in the cold clutches of reality. It gave me bruises. Anyway, this here be my peace offering, and I hope you enjoy, it made me want to cry my eyes out.**

**Line break**

For the first time in a long while, Tsunade cried. She cried for the injustice of the world, and the cruel impartiality of fate. Her tears were not the pretty, photogenic tears that people cried when they only wanted sympathy. These were eye-reddening, nose running, wrenching sob tears. Tsunade made no move to wipe them away, and did not care that the important documents lying on the desk were now spattered with droplets.

The desk she had hoped to never sit behind again.

It couldn't be true. She _refused_ to believe it could possibly be true.

He had fought _so hard_.

Ever since he was born, he'd had to fight and strive forward.

He'd had to fight for every single friend he had, even her, for every ounce of respect the villagers now had for him. He had to struggle to gain knowledge from unwilling teachers and clawed his way into the ninja world and took hold of it like a maelstrom.

He had fought and bled and _died_ for this village, and yet it was not enough.

It had started out as a cold, just a sniffle. Naruto brushed it off as nothing, then the occasional wave of dizziness, when he stood up too fast. His cuts and bruises stayed longer than they ever had, but Naruto thought it was just because he no longer had the Kyuubi, and didn't think anything of it.

It was only when he collapsed, lying on his office floor his tan skin going oh so very pale that he, and everyone else, realized that it was so severe.

Naruto had laughed when Tsunade told him.

He had laughed and laughed and laughed. Until he cried, sobbing into Tsunade's shoulder, allowing himself to be weak and to scream and cry and rage against this world that was so cruel to him.

The Akatsuki had caught him a little under a year ago, taking him to their lair, they lay him at the foot of their evil alter and _ripped_ the demon from inside of him. Taking and taking and _taking_ until there was nothing but Naruto in his mind and body. No more whispers or sinister chuckles, no images of bloodlust planted there by a vengeful monster: just Naruto and the rapidly approaching light.

But then the pain came back and a cooling body lay over his, the pink hair seeming so dull in this dirty place. ()

Naruto had raged then, tearing the filthy alter from its foundations, and ripping the little men apart as they had ripped into him, their pieces burned in their redfirecloud pyre.

And he had carried his teammate's body back to the village to return to her civilian parents.

The Kyuubi had always healed him of all poison, illness, or injury. Thus his body had never built up and immunity to even the most common of ailments. So when that one cell went wrong, a left over taint of a demon now gone, and that one cell had multiplied over and over and over. His body was left completely defenseless. There was nothing they could do. Tsunade had told him his time was down to a few weeks, maybe a month. His body was too weak, and the illness too strong, his defenses far too feeble to put up more than a paltry fight.

Tsunade refused to let it lie, she went through her libraries like a hurricane, searching for some way to at least buy time. She had lost her brother and her boyfriend; she refused to lose him, refused to let him go. She would find a way to save him as she couldn't save her other two loved ones.

Naruto was quiet. It was such a strange thing to think, even to himself, but it was true. He held his Hokage hat in his hands, staring at the symbol on its front. He had made it. After every one telling him that he couldn't possibly make it this far, but he had. He had fought and bit and scratched his way into the sun. His face was on that mountain, situated with the greats, with his father, Hokage-jii, and Tsunade-Baa-san. His face would forever be watching over the village.

Could it be enough for him?

As Hokage he had negotiated treaties with almost every county, only excluding Sound. Some were just non –aggression, others, like with Sand, were partnerships and trading alliances. Konoha now sat firmly upon a web of allies that would live on after him. It was enough that he had gotten here, enough that he proved every single villager wrong.

Yet Naruto was still frightened.

He was only twenty-one, he had never kissed anyone besides that once in the academy, had never fallen in true love, had never married or had children. He had no legacy to leave behind, no baby Naruto with his bright blonde hair and his mother's eyes.

He wondered if it was going to hurt. One would think with his long history of injuries he wouldn't be afraid of pain, but he was. He imagined that he could feel the illness sinking its tendrils deep inside of his flesh and bones eating away at his soul.

He really hoped that it didn't hurt.

He decided that he didn't want to live out the rest of his drastically shortened life in this dreary hospital. He detached himself from the various tubes and wires and placed the hat upon his head, already dressed in the robes that he had refused to switch out for the hospital gown, he waved off the droves of nurses and doctors that had come running at the flat line, and walked to the Tower, appearing calm and composed to the villagers.

His condition had not yet been released, and he planned it to stay that way.

He did not want to be molly coddled, and he refused to go out strapped to a hospital bed.

Tsunade threw a fit, that was expected, but when he calmly explained to her his reasoning, she realized that there was nothing she could do. He had her contact all of his friends to discreetly tell them the news. Between their visits he did paperwork, and outlined his vision for the village in the years to come.

Hinata had cried. He had known that she loved him, and could have even seen himself loving her in the future, but that was not to be. He watched wearily as Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru held her between them. What he would give to have his own teammates alive and in the village again. As they left for the next group, he looked at the two males on the team. He stared into their eyes, as if he could see past Shino's sunglasses. "Take care of her." They nodded solemnly, guiding her out of the office. Kakashi and Iruka had come in next, Kakashi's arm around Iruka, the new couple brought together by Naruto himself.

Iruka broke away from Kakashi as he leapt upon Naruto and held the boy close. Naruto hugged his old mentor close and wished that things were different.

Kakashi wished he could take Naruto's place. He had lived long for a shinobi, not as long as the Sannin, but long enough. Naruto was still young, he could do many great things. Hell, he had already done many amazing things. Naruto was ending, brought down by some virus. God, he wished he could take Naruto's place.

Ino and Naruto had grown close after Sakura's death, he had helped her through it, and she him. He looked at her and saw her blue eyes and blonde hair and wished that if he could have a sister, it would be her. Chouji and Shikamaru had been great friends to him. They had really started to get to know each other after their first failed mission trying to get Sasuke back. Chouji was the only one who could match his ramen consumption. And Shikamaru had been his adviser, they had spent many a long night playing shougi.

Team Gai was next, Lee and Gai were crying real tears, not the dramatic ones they were fond of spouting, these were the red face, snotty nose, slow dripping tears of loss. Neji frowned, it was strange to see the boy looking so haggard, even when he was beaten into the pavement he was always so full of fire. Now it seemed that that fire had been banked, still there, but buried, and it made him pale and weary looking. Tenten had never had much contact with Naruto, but she had taught him to throw his weapons properly and had never met a nicer person than him.

The last few days were bad. Naruto drifted in and out of dreams, unable to eat anything lest his body just puke it up again. Brief moments of lucidity broke through from his deleriums. They all took turns watching over him. Hinata would sit by him and read, stories of brave ninja and beautiful ladies. Iruka would talk about the villagers. Kakashi would tell him all about his past. Tsunade would hold his hand while she studied her medical tomes. Naruto heard it all in his subconscious.

It was Shikamaru's turn to watch him when Naruto woke. Shikamaru sat by the window, smoking a cigarette.

"I'm scared." Naruto said. Shikamaru stubbed his cigarette out on the windowsill and turned to look at him.

Shikamaru wasn't sure if this was another lucid moment or if Naruto was in one of his half dreams, but he decided to treat it as a moment of clarity.

"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say." Shikamaru moved closer to the bed so as to not miss anything. Naruto laughed weakly.

"I know, right? But I am. People I can face, people I have a chance to defeat, but an illness does not bleed." He laughed again. "If cancer cells were ninjas they would rule the world." Shikamaru couldn't laugh.

Naruto looked him straight in the eye and Shikamaru knew that this was no delirium. Naruto was as lucid now as he had been before his illness.

"You'll make a better Hokage than I ever could." Shikamaru froze, shock removing any ability to move. Finally a flat tone registered in his mind.

Shikamaru yelled for the doctors, Tsunade, who had come early to relieve him barreled into the room, immediately assessing the situation. Her hands burst with green energy as she tried to resuscitate him. She pumped chakra into his heart and breathed air into his lungs until his eyes opened and he coughed weakly, the heart monitor starting faintly. Tsunade went to put a mask on his face to help him breathe, when his hand caught hers.

Naruto stared up at the only woman to ever treat him as a son. His beautiful blue eyes looked into her gold and said what he couldn't then.

'Let me go.' They cried.

"I can't, I can't." she wept back.

'Let me go.' They repeated, staring into her eyes with a strange calmness.

He was no longer afraid; his hand was steady as it held hers.

And Tsunade saw how tired he was and how much pain he was really in. She saw that he only wanted to sleep.

She took her chakra laden hands from his chest sobbing as his eyes thanked her, a smile on his face as he passed on.

"Only one regret." He sighed with his last breath, the Hokage hat falling from his hands for the first time since he had entered the hospital, he no longer needed to cling to it.

It had been seven years since this boy had torn his way into Tsunade's heart and dragged her back to the village she had forsaken.

Six years since his teammate betrayed this village, leaving him for the snake traitor and tearing a hole in Naruto's heart; literally and figuratively.

Five years since Naruto had saved the young Kazekage, risking life and limb for someone who had carried the same burden, and had dealt with it in his own way.

Three years since Sasuke and he had had their all out battle, Naruto winning and letting Sasuke go: letting him choose.

One year since Naruto had died and lived again and massacred little men in red clouds, mourning the loss of cherry blossoms.

Five weeks since Naruto had collapsed and they had learned the terrible truth.

All of these timelines, all of these sinister dates and events, they all lead up to the sound of a flatline and Tsunade sitting on a cold tiled floor wailing her heart out and clutching the hand of a boy far too good for this world to ever keep.

The funeral was held the next day. On a clear blue day, the sky coming close to matching the eyes, of Konoha's most beloved Hokage, but never quite being able to replicate it. Every villager from the oldest to the youngest showed at this the most tragic of ceremonies. Hokage never live long lives, this everyone knew, but no one expected him to leave them so very soon.

His loved ones stood at the front of the crowd, not a one of them unmoved by this calamity. And yet the sun continued to shine, the birds chirped on, and the world turned. Each and every one of them wondered how this could be when it seemed that the sky should be grey, the world silent, and everything should have stilled.

Tomorrow they would be able to pull themselves from their loved ones arms.

Tomorrow they would dry their tears.

Tomorrow they would go to work or take up missions.

But today was a day for mourning the loss of bright blue eyes and blonde hair.

And this time there was no legacy.

**So, how's it going? depressing no? Doesn't it just want to make you scream at me via review? Ah! But wait, take a little hop, skip, and a jump over to the second chapter, view it with your eyes of seeing. The sadness just flows.**


	2. Desecration

There was no noise to warn of his arrival, no tiny fluctuation of sound that told anyone that he was here.

One moment the room was void of all but one occupant, the next a dark figure stood by the now open window, his dark blue hair waving slightly in the breeze.

The room's occupant opened his eyes a fraction of a second later, sensing the visitor.

The intruder looked at the blonde for a moment, seeing the bruises under his eyes and how tired he looked. How fragile he looked. As if he could break at any moment. His once tan skin seemed so pale in this room devoid of color.

"I'm glad you made it." Naruto told Sasuke, his honest voice breaking their silence.

"It's no big deal." The taller man said, leaning against the wall.

"It is to me." They fell silent for a while, the wind outside the only noise.

"Is it serious?" Sasuke allowed himself to ask, only because of their long friendship.

"I don't have much time left." The silence came again, but this time it was strained, the weight of those five words more than even their strength could hold. "Won't you come back to the village?" Even though he asked he knew the answer, and it pained him.

"I can't you know that." After betraying and attacking Konoha, Sasuke knew that even though Naruto would welcome him with open arms, the others wouldn't feel comfortable with him around. They would tolerate him for Naruto's sake but he couldn't do that to them.

"You'll always be welcome in Konoha." Naruto stated, his blue eyes burning into Sasuke's obsidian. His eyes showed such strength that Sasuke had to turn away, he looked out the window at the village he forsook. "Good luck on your path, Sasuke. I hope you achieve your goal."

"I killed Itachi, and Madara is gone as well." Sasuke said, voicing things that Naruto already knew. "The line ends with me. These eyes bring nothing but tragedy." Naruto smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke." Naruto's voice was steeped in sadness.

"For what?" Sasuke's fingers fiddled with the curtains, certain he wouldn't like the answer.

"That I couldn't save you." Sasuke turned, to assure the blonde that he had been saved, but the room was empty; Sasuke was alone.

_I'm always too late, aren't I? _Sasuke thought.The bed was empty and cold, the sheets tucked in neatly and the machines were dark and silent. The moonlight streamed into the room as Sasuke's form slumped to the floor.

He had always seemed so strong, so lasting.

_I'm always too late. Like teacher like student._

The Uchiha line would end with him, red spinning eyes disappearing from the world, just as blue had forever closed.

Sasuke only hoped that when his cursed red eyes closed on this world he could meet blue and they could be happy.

_You did save me, you did._

Sasuke stood, though his legs still felt weak, and left Konoha as he had come, none but the ghosts any wiser.

_Farewell, Naruto._


End file.
